Let it go
by Fashionofhislove
Summary: "Excuse me young man are you Henry-Mills-eh I mean Swan." Regina stumbles with the last name and tries to put on her best acting face. It took every bone in her body not to hug her long lost son.
1. Chapter 1

**Let it go**

_Chapter 1_

A knock.

A curious gaze.

A mother.

A familiar stranger.

Emma Swan opens her apartment door and immediately wonders how on earth this undoubtedly attractive stranger could possibly be at the right address.

"Emma." The woman gasps in a trembling whisper, and looks at Emma as though she is about to lunge toward her.

"Do I know you?" Emma cautiously closes off the space between her and the mysteriously familiar woman by slowly itching the door back to its previous position.

"No wait please! Do not close that door Ms. Swan." She pleaded with her arms. The journey to find her was no simple task and she was not going to give up on her without a fight.

"I'm sorry but I am having breakfast with my son right now. He needs to get ready for school so this isn't exactly a good time. I don't want whatever you are selling me."

And with that Emma fully closes the apartment door leaving the stranger utterly speechless on the other side.

"So much for giving up without a fight." The woman mutters to herself as she hits her hand against the outside wall. Oh how she wished she had magic in this land.

When Emma returns to the kitchen she sees that Henry has already finished his bowl of cereal and hot chocolate.

"You almost ready for school?"

Emma asks him as she cleans some of the dishes in the sink.

"Yeah almost ready. Who was that at the door?"

Henry asks as he packs up his backpack.

His mother simply shrugs, "Just some saleswoman." Of course Emma's mind is still unable to shake off the smell of fresh apples that the woman left behind. She thought she recognized her from somewhere but if that was the case then the woman was from her past. Barely anything good has come from Emma's past except Henry. Henry is her one and only good thing she has in her life.

"Mom you ok?"

Henry quickly interrupts her thoughts. "Yeah just give me a second and we can get going."

Once Henry is dropped off at school Emma makes her way back to the apartment. When she approaches her way to the apartment stairwell she automatically can sense her presence. Her bounty hunting skills are always being put to use.

"What do you want? Who are you?" Emma says her voice raised in an affirmative tone. She did not like people hanging around her place. Especially when that place is where she lived with her son. A mother like her would do anything to protect her family.

"Ms. Swan please let me come in I just need to talk to you."

The stranger from this morning begged again. The woman knew how desperate and fragile she must appear to Emma now.

"Why should I trust you? How do you even know my name?"

Emma moved past the stranger with her hands balled up in fists up against her sides ready to defend herself. She looked the woman up and down again she whiffed in the scent of apples off of her.

"I am someone from well- your past please just let me explain or I-"

"Tell me your name." Emma coldly stopped her. Her green eyes staring violently directly toward hers.

"My name is Regina Mills but most people who have met me know me as the evil queen."

Emma shakes her head and taps away at her phone, "Ms. Swan what are you doing?" Regina steps closer to her weary of her reaction.

"I am sorry lady but you are not all there. I am calling the police." Emma stepped back away from her and brought the phone right to her ear.

"No wait! You have to listen to me Emma I am not lying use your superpower on me tell me if I am lying to you!"

Emma immediately stopped the call. Nobody knew her superpower except Henry.

"H-how do you know that? Who the hell are you?"

Emma's phone was now at her side her eyes scanned a now exasperated Regina.

"As I previously tried to inform you my name is Regina Mills and I have known you and Henry for quite a while Ms. Swan. Well Henry longer I have to admit but I-"

"You know my son too?" Emma questioned. How the hell did this stalker lady know her son too.

"Please Ms. Swan do not get angry with me. I did give you all these happy memories after all. I have come back to fix everything though because your family-I-"

Regina suddenly coughs but continues to look directly back at Emma her mind trying to find the right words to say, "We can't seem to all have our happy endings without you."

Emma does not know if she should just call the police or let the woman continue talking. She chooses to let what the woman said settle in her mind.

"I have come back to try-"

"You know my family." Emma comes around to understand. She does not question the woman before her but rather states it like a fact you would find in a crinkled up newspaper.

"Yes now if you don't mind I would like to explain everything further inside if you would just-"

"I don't want anything to do with them or you. And neither does Henry. They abandoned me. Hell they left me out on the side of the road to die. Those people are dead to me for all I care."

Regina could feel the sharp daggers Emma was sending to her. This was a slightly different Emma then the one from Storybrooke. This was not the same Emma who had searched her entire life for her parents.

Emma without saying another word climbed the rest of her apartment stairs and slammed the door shut. Leaving a clueless Regina on the other side.

"What the fuck am I going to do now?"

Regina sat on a bench directly outside Henry's school. She knew if she could not get through to the stubborn Ms. Swan then Henry was her only hope. She stared down at her watch while she waited for the bell to ring. She thought of the life she had before in this land. The years she was living in Storybrooke. She really missed that town...what she wouldn't do to get it all back again.

When the bell finally rang a swarm of children and teenagers ran out of the three story building. Regina's eyes scanned rapidly around the campus trying to look for her son. She

paced across the sidewalk area for a solid ten minutes until she finally spotted him. He grew a few inches taller since the last time she saw him. It had only been a year and her Henry was already looking like a young man.

She wanted to call out to him but she needed to be careful. She peered around wondering if Emma picks him up from school or if he walks home.

As soon as she sees him separate himself from his friends and make his way to the sidewalk and down towards the bus stop Regina gathers up the courage to go over to him.

"Excuse me young man are you Henry-Mills-eh I mean Swan." Regina stumbles with the last name and tries to put on her best acting face. It took every bone in her body not to hug her long lost son.

"Yeah. And you are?"

"I'm Regina."

The young man eyed her increduously. "You seem familiar are you a friend of my moms?"

"Uh something like that Henry-listen this is kind of important do you think we could talk for a bit."

"I don't know my mom doesn't like me to be late getting home and I don't know you at all-"

"Do you believe in fairytales Henry?"

Regina asked with hope that Henry would be willing to learn again.

"I have never really read about them."

"Take this."

Regina pulls out the old fairytale book Snow gave to Henry in Storybrooke.

"Read this and you will understand everything. You see that coffee shop across the street there." Henry nodded his curiosity getting the best of him as he already had been peaking in the book.

"I will be there everyday after school if you want to talk. I have a mission while I am here and I am not leaving until its been done."

Regina smiles happy to have gotten that out of her system. When she sees her sons reaction to the book she leans toward the boy and gives him a giant hug, "I'm sorry if you are confused but I just-well I needed to do that. Lets hope we can talk again soon."

Regina turned her back and quickly walked away from her son hoping that he will believe in all those fairytales once again.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Henry time for bed!" Emma yelled from her bedroom.

The boy grudgingly shut off the TV show he was watching and obediently replied, "Ok Mom."

Once he made his way to his bedroom he opened up the book the peculiarly familiar woman had given him the other day, "_Once upon a time_." He read the cover out loud to himself.

"What's _Once upon a time_?" Emma unexpectedly walked into Henry's room just as he was getting comfortable.

"Its just a book." Henry stated as he started to open its contents.

"Is it for school?" Emma questioned a little confused by the books enormous size.

"Yeah." Henry simply replied.

Emma's left eyebrow went up in suspicion. It was rather odd for Henry to lie to her especially since this was about something so minute.

"Henry why don't we try answering that question again. Where did you get the book?"

Henry sighed closing the book back up before even starting to read the first page, "from this woman outside my school."

Immediately Emma tensed and grabbed Henry's hand, "Are you ok? Did she hurt you Henry? I think I am going to call the police this time."

"No mom its fine! She was nice and just wanted me to read this book about fairytales! See?"

Henry coaxed his mother to calm down a bit and gave her the book to look at.

Emma hesitated a second before flipping through the pages of the book. She saw hundreds of beautifully done portraits of castles, mermaids, fairies, and wolves. She paused on a page with drawing of a dwarf and wondered what this entire story was actually about.

But her thoughts instantly shifted back to that woman...what was her name again? Rachel? Regardless she was a danger to her son.

"Henry you must not see that woman again. I don't know who she is but she knows something about me either that or she is insane. Can you tell me exactly what she said to you?"

Henry nodded, "She said she knew you and me for a very long time. She wanted me to remember everything so she gave me this book to read. She said if I ever wanted to talk we could meet at the coffee place across the street after school. She gave me a hug and then left. I don't think she is trying to harm us mom."

Henry honestly said his curious eyes leering toward the book now tightly coiled in his mothers hands.

Emma shook her head, "I don't know Henry...its all very strange and I don't want you reading this ok?"

Emma automatically tucks Henry in and leaves with the book enclosed in her arm.

The next day Emma gets to the school early to pick up Henry. She stares across the street and spots her sitting idly in a corner on her phone sipping the coffee that she must have just ordered.

Emma knew she needed to take matters into her own hands. She looked down at her watch, she had five minutes before Henry got out of school.

She made her way across the street a bell noise sounded as she entered the establishment. Their eyes simultaneously connected with one another. Not to create a scene Emma quietly sat across from her stalker and placed the large book in front of them both.

"Care to explain?"

Emma hissed at the brunette who showed no reaction to her presence.

"That my dear was for Henry to read but I see you have torn it away from him. Is it even possible to say that you would have taken the time to read it?"

Emma rolled her eyes, "Stay away from us I mean it or I will call the police. I don't know what game you are playing at. I don't need to know about my family or anyone for that matter."

Emma then shot up from her seat the chair making a loud screeching noise. As she was moving away Regina stopped her frozen in place, "What about Neal?"

Emma felt an electric shock course through her body with the mention of her son's father.

"How could you possibly know him?"  
Emma's mouth hung open in awe.

"Miss Swan please I need to explain everything to you. Will you let me?"  
Regina pleaded as she had done since she arrived. She was so thankful to have finally struck a cord in the blonde woman.

"I-I just..."

Regina nodded in understanding, almost as if she could read Emma's thoughts that were jumping around vicariously in the blonde's mind. It had become quite clear to her that Emma needed time for her to grasp the truth of their unique situation. It was not easy for her to believe Henry the first time around so she was positive the second time was going to be just as difficult.

"I will be here everyday before Henry gets out of school. Come whenever you are up for it Emma, but know I can not stick around forever. Oh and for the love of god give the book to Henry, it belongs to him after all."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Henry walked over to his mother in the living room who was slouched awkwardly in the sofa chair, "Mom its 7! You have to get me to school."

Emma's eyes immediately shot open feeling Henry's sharp pokes on the top of her shoulder, "Ok relax give me a minute."

She muttered while rubbing her eyes dry of 's nightly deposit. Once she retained her eyesight she redirected her attention back to her laptop that lay in her lap. She had been trying to track down this " Regina Mills" all night but there was no trace of her existence anywhere. Its as if she did not even exist in this world at all. "C'mon Mom!"

The blonde sighed in defeat. She was hoping this Mills character was an illegal immigrant or some convicted criminal so she could use the information for blackmail to get the woman the hell away from her and Henry.

As Henry got himself situated she saw him pick up the humongous book and attempt to slide it in his backpack, "Henry just leave it here!"

"Mom I am at a good part of the story. The evil queen just decided to cast a spell on all the fairy tale characters."

"Henry please leave the book here you can read it when you get back."

Emma decided for him as she gently eased him out of the apartment door.

Once Henry was dropped off Emma went to work. She has been taking less bailbonsmend jobs ever since this woman had stepped into her and Henrys life a few days ago. She did not feel safe knowing some of her secrets were out in the open. She knew it was necessary to protect herself and get down to the bottom of what the hell was going on.

When she arrived home late that afternoon to make herself lunch the book lay on the counter staring back at her desperately wanting to be read.

"Goddamnit." Emma sighed knowing far too well that just like her son her curiousity has gotten the best of her.

And hell if she couldnt find anything about this so called Regina Mills maybe this ridiculous book that she insists they both read will tell her something.

"Once upon a Time."

Emma read out loud and could not help but laugh to herself. She surely must be out of her mind at this point.

An hour later Emma was entranced in the magical story and had basically reached the part where Henry was at. The evil queen Regina was about to enact a cure on the land and send them to a place where time would be frozen for all of them. Without even thinking she glanced at her watch and realized it was time to pick up Henry. Perhaps when they come back they can finish the book together.

When Emma picked up Henry from school she saw the woman from across the street once again sitting in the exact spot she was the last time sipping her coffee, "Not yet." Emma heaved she could not believe she let into some strangers request to read a book. Granted it was well written and contained beautifully done pictures...but really fairy tales? What does this have to do about her family? Neal?

Henry smiled once he jumped into his mom's yellow bug, "Hey how was school?"

"It was great we learned about President Lincoln and did some multiplication tables which I didn't really like. Oh and this girl Sam finally talked to me."

"Thats awesome, and woah am I sensing that you have a crush?"

Henry instantly blushed, "I-I just think shes pretty."

Emma smiled, "Well show her your moves Henry you will get her to like you back even more! Do you have a lot of homework?"

"Not really why?"

"Because I want to finish the book."

Regina sipped her piping hot cup of coffee while making glances outside the window. She prayed as she watched her son leave with Emma that they were finally giving into her request.


End file.
